1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for managing transmission/reception of data by a communication apparatus using a server.
2. Description of Related Art
In using a facsimile machine, there is a case in which an object person (receiver) is absent when a user (sender) transmits a document. In this case, a received document that has been printed out from a facsimile machine on the receiver side is left unattended. And therefore in such a situation, a security issue must be addressed, because a third person may read the document surreptitiously.
The receiver may communicate with the sender via a telephone call or e-mail in order to assure reception of the received document. However, this involves a disadvantage of requiring time and effort. Thus, a facsimile machine is desired that allows the sender to transmit a document at desired time and location, and that allows the receiver to receive the document at desired time and location.
As one solution, there is a facsimile machine capable of forwarding a transmitted document so that the receiver can receive the document at a desired location. However, when the receiver cannot receive the transmitted document forwarded to the desired location immediately, the above noted security issue is not solved. In other words, there remains a certain amount of time during which the transmitted document printed out by the facsimile machine on the receiver side is left unattended.
Further, there is a facsimile machine with a secure receiving function capable of receiving the transmitted document at a time desired by the receiver. With the secure receiving function, a document that has been received during the absence of the receiver, such as at night or on a day-off, is stored in a memory without being printed out. With the sender setting a password, only a related person who knows the password can retrieve the document stored in the memory on the receiver side. However, since the document is stored in the memory in the facsimile machine on the receiver side until the receiver prints the document out, the security issue remains in a case in which the receiver is absent for an extended period of time.
A connection registration service disclosed in one conventional art document changes its function according to a status of an object person with whom a caller attempts to make a telephone conversation. In this service, a telephone conversation can be made as with a common telephone set when the object person whom the caller intends to talk is attended, and, when the object person is absent, a connection registration is made until the object person returns and a telephone conversation is established when the object person attends.
It is possible for a sender and a receiver to exchange information while communicating with each other using the service according to the above conventional art document. However, this connection registration service is designed for both the caller and receiver to use their respective telephone sets at the same time. Accordingly, application of this service to a facsimile machine or a data forwarding apparatus will make the sender and the receiver to use their facsimile machines or communication apparatuses at the same time. This leads to a constraint forcing the sender and the receiver to coordinate their schedules so that both the sender and the receiver attend at the same time.